In the Bible, there’s a story about this guy, Joseph, who really had just a hard, weird go of it. He was the youngest brother in a long line of sons and—as youngest brothers often are—he was treasured and beloved by his mama. He was the baby, and he was the favorite.
Joseph had these dreams.
Not like goals he wanted to accomplish for himself, but literal dreams from God – where he saw himself leading his brothers and in a place of authority. Like a privileged and fearless younger brother, he shared those dreams with his family – pretty much ensuring their hatred and disdain.
They literally tried to kill him and when their consciences got the better of them, they decided just to sell him into slavery. Joseph had hard years, then better years, and ultimately he did end up in a position of leadership over his brothers. I won’t spoil the story for you if you haven’t read it. (Check out Genesis 37.)
The thing is, Joseph didn’t know how to handle his dreams.
He didn’t know how to share them in humility and shepherd them well. He probably sounded prideful and rude and he didn’t even realize it, but I don’t think he did a single thing wrong in having the actual dream. I mean – you can’t CHOOSE your dreams, can you? I think we can deny dreams, we can stuff them, we can pretend they’re not for us – but we can’t manifest them ourselves if we tried.
I like to tell people in my life the following statement and I’d like to tell it to you today:
I’m not scared of your Joseph dream.
If it’s in your heart and in your mind, I think it’s there for a reason – even if it doesn’t come to fruition exactly like you picture.
We have to handle those dreams with humility, but they need not terrify us. If we’re children of God, it’s not prideful or boastful to allow our hearts and minds to follow where He takes us. It’s not thinking too much of ourselves to believe that He loves us, wants to use us, and has uniquely made us for His glory and good work.
I’m not scared of your Joseph dream. And you shouldn’t be either.
What is your Joseph dream?
I’d love to hear it and celebrate it with you, if you feel like sharing.
Jess Connolly is a gal who wants to leave the world more in awe of God than she found it. She’s a passionate entrepreneur, author and speaker and loves talking to women about Jesus on the internet or over coffee. She and her husband Nick have recently planted Gospel Community Church in Charleston, SC. Jess is the cofounder of The Influence Network and the lead designer + owner of Naptime Diaries Shop. Her first book, Wild and Free, co-written with Hayley Morgan, will be out in spring 2016 with Zondervan. She blogs at jessconnolly.com.
Leave a Reply